Suture protecting means for surgical stitching instruments



' March 5; 19 16. J. o. KARLE 0,

SUTURE PROTECTING MEANS FOR SURGICAL STITCHING INSTRUMENTS I Filed July 22, 1944 Patented Mar. 5, 1946 SU TURE PROTECTING MEANSIFOR SURGI- CAL STITCHING INSTRUMENTS John D. Karle,. Roselle Park, N. J.,, assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application July 22,1944, Serial No. 546,095

8JClaiins. (o1. izs-e ro) This invention: relates to; surgical stitching instruments of the typeSdisclosed in my, United States Patent No. 2,348,218, May 9, 1944, and which carr'y'a spool of suturing material and an eye-pointed'needle to which the's'uturing materi'alis directed. i

I Itis common practice for dealers in surgical goods tosupply catgut suture'steriliz ed and held within suitable sealed 'arnpoules which are substantially'filled with a'liquid, such, for example, as alcohol which maintains the suture in'a sterile condition aiid keeps "it soft and pliable.

Whenfsuch suture is used in the instrument disclosedjin my above mentioned patent, it is removed-from th e'ar'npoule, wound upon a spool and the snoollis placed in thespopl-holder'of the instrument. A portion 'of the sutur is then drawn off the spool and the end thereof is-pas'sed through the'suture gpide'at the front'end'of the instrument and is thenthreaded'through the eye, or eyes, of the needlej afterwhichthe instrument and the suture is again sterilized.

, When, during the performance of anoperation, the instrumentishandled, that portion of the thread extending between the ,spo oland hemedlejis subjected to 'the 'action of 'air currents and therefore tends tofdry and"stifien'rather quickly. Ii, due to delays, etc; the drying and stiffening progresses tpo far, proper handling'of the suture 9m Y i i 1t-,.

From the foregoingit will be appreciated that anything that can be done to prevent or retard the drying and stiffening of the suture will be imnortant, as it will facilitate handling of the ure-WM. .i i's a em a the ef r ha as i im y q iectiqv vid me n rfen l i iathe suture n firave m e sn qu th need h reby toprotectfthe suture andprevent'drying andfconw llnn th m? Wi h, he bb ean oth biet j n w/a wil filier i ier. we r. t r ven n o npr e 1 1, 9. e i es, ,cqm in tibh d arraneeihentsfc art nerei aft rset forth'arld illustrated in the qg me n ne d aw n 9 a p e red b d r ment'oithe invention, from whichthe several feature'sof'th'e i vefition aridtne advantages :it-

l t aine'd th'ereby will be readily.understoodbythose skilled in theart. I the d in bi a. surgica stitchin instrument embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sidedviewthereof.

Fig. 3 is 'an enlarged bottom View of the left end of theinstrument shown in Figs. 1 a'nd2, with theshankof the needle 'in section. a I N Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line IVI',V, of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken 'sub'st'ane tially on the line V-V of Fig 2.

Fig.6 is a detail perspective viewbi the .left end portion of the needle-ulcer,oftheinstruinent. Fig. 'l-is a perspective View ofa.sut-urek protecting element removed frpm 'theinstrui nent. Referring more specifically to the drawing, he

invention is disclosed as embodie ddn a sm ar stitching instrument comprising a main support.-

ing element or needle-bar I, of tubular'forirgto one end of which is secured a handle Zby means of which the instrument may be held anamnipulated. Upon one endof the handle .therejis secured, by ascrew3, a collarf l jforniingfapart of a bracket 4 which carries a spoolcase '5. in which is rotatably mounted a spool 6. The spool has wound thereon suitable suture t ffor use with the instrument. The screw 3 which secures the collar 4 to the handle, also secures thehandle to the needle-bar l. Means, not shown, is provided'for locking the spool against rotation and this means maybe released by thumb pressure on the cap-nut 27. Inasmuch asthemeans ior locking andreleasing the spool formsnopart of this invention and is fullyshown and described in my above mentioned Patent No. 2,348,213,:de tailed illustration and description thereof herein is deemed unnecessary,

At its. free end, the needle-bar l. carries a fined needle-clamping jaw B with which cooperates a movable clamping jaw l to grip the shank s of the needle n. The jaw l is carried by aneedle clamp actuating rod 8. (Figs. 4 and 5), which extends through the instrument and which is shifted axially, to cause the jaws to grip the needle, by a manually rotatable nut l 8at the rear end of the handle, also as shown in my above mentioned patent. V V

To house the suture t ;in its travel from the spool 6 to the needle, therebyto prevent drying and contamination of the suture, the needlerbar is formed, in one side, with a longitudinal channel 9 which extends from adjacent the spool to the free end of the needle-bar. This channel is nor mally covered by a portion In of a suture protecting element P, preferably of sheet-metal, which is shown detached in Fig. '7. The channel 9 and the overlying portion Ill form a closed chamber 0 (Figs. 4 and 5) extending lengthwise of the instrument and withinwhich the major portion of the suture between the spool and the needle is located., In addition to the portion In, the element P comprises a longitudinal portion l I and a plurality of substantially c-shaped straplike portions l2 surrounding the needle-bar l and connecting the portions l and H. The portion H is formed with an inturned lip l3 which is adapted to slide endwise into a groove 14 formed in the needle-bar parallel to the channel 9. Engagement of the lip l3 with the side walls of the groove l4 properly positions the element P on the needle-bar so that the bar In closes the channel 9 and also prevents turning of the element P on the needle-bar.

At one end, the element P is formed with a tailpiece |5 adapted to abut one end of the handle or the collar 4 of the spool-bracket 4, thereby to hold the element against axial movement in one direction. Movement of the element in the opposite direction is prevented by the engagement of the strap-like portion l2, at the outer end of the element, with a finger [6 carried by the clamp-jaw 1, which finger also serves as a stop for the shank of the needle, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5.

At its rear end, the portion I0 is provided with an upturned lip I! which serves to direct the suture into the rear end of the channel 9 as the user pulls the suture toward the front end of the instrument. At its forward end, the portion i0 is provided with a. lip l 9, under which the suture is drawn to lay it completely in the channel 9, and with a finger 20 under which the suture also is drawn to put it in a throat 21 between the finger 20 and the adjacent portion I 2; said throat serving as a guide for the suture extending from the chamber 0 to the needle.

When it is desired to disassemble the instrument for the purpose of cleaning and sterilizing, the nut 18 is unscrewed from the end of the needle-clamp actuating rod 8 and that rod, together with the clamp-jaw 1 and needle-stop iii, are withdrawn to the left from the hollow needle bar I. The suture protecting element P may then he slid off the free end of the needle-bar, the lip l3 sliding lengthwise of the groove l4.

From the foregoing it will be perceived that this invention has provided simple yet efiective means for protecting a suture in its travel from the spool to the needle and, to a large extent, to prevent drying and contamination thereof.

It will also be perceived that, with the present construction, the suture readily may be placed in its protective chamber by a natural drawing action on the suture and without the aid of any wire or other threading implement.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needle-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle, and a member carried by said needlebar and overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber.

2. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needle-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle, and a sheet metal member removably secured to said needle-bar and having a portion overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber.

3. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needie-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle, and a member removably secured to said needle-bar and having one portion overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber and another portion interlocked with said needle-bar to position said member on the needle-bar and prevent turning of the member thereon.

4. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof,

and a spool-holder located remote from the needle-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle and a groove parallel to said channel, and a member removably secured to said needle-bar and having one portion overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber and another portion entering said groove to position said member on said needle-bar and prevent turning of the member thereon.

5. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needie-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle, and a member carried by said needle-bar and overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber, said member having at one end an upturned lip to direct the suture material beneath said member and into said chamber and at its opposite end a suture-material guide to direct the suture material from said chamber to said needle.

6. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needle-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder tear. jacent said needle, and a member slidingly mounted upon and frictio-nally secured to said needle-bar and having one portion overlying said channel and formin therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber and another portion engaging a stationary part of the instrument to limit the sliding movement of said member onto said needle-bar.

7. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle-clamp at one end thereof, a needle secured in said needle-clamp, and a spool-holder located remote from the needle.. holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle, a member slidingly fitted upon said needle-bar and having one portion overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber, and another portion at one end thereof engaging a stationary part of the instrument to limit the sliding movement of said member in one direction onto said needle-bar, and an abutment carried by said needle-clamp and engaging the opposite end of said member to prevent accidental movement of said member in the opposite direction.

8. In a surgical stitching instrument having a needle-bar, a needle secured in one end thereof, and a spool-holder located remote from the needle-holding end of the bar and carrying a spool of suturing material, the improvement which consists in the provision in the outer surface of said needle-bar of a longitudinal channel extending from adjacent said spool-holder to adjacent said needle and a groove parallel to said channel, and a sheet metal member removably secured to said needle-bar, said member comprising a plurality of substantially C-shaped straps embracing said needle-bar and a pair of bars secured to the opposite ends of said straps, one of said bars overlying said channel and forming therewith a substantially closed suture-housing chamber and the other of said bars having an inturned lip fitting into said groove to prevent turning of said member on said needle-bar.

JOHN D. KARLE. 

